Republicans Block Child Nutrition Bill

Posted by | December 1, 2010 21:49 | Filed under: Top Stories


House Republicans are blocking legislation that would feed meals to thousands of hungry children.

Republicans used a procedural maneuver Wednesday to try to amend the $4.5 billion bill, which would give more needy children the opportunity to eat free lunches at school and make those lunches healthier. First lady Michelle Obama has lobbied for the bill as part of her “Let’s Move” campaign to combat childhood obesity.

House Democrats said the GOP amendment, which would have required background checks for child care workers, was an effort to kill the bill and delayed a final vote on the legislation rather than vote on the amendment.

Republicans are using the old canard that the bill costs too much and represents government intrusion.

The bill would provide money to serve more than 20 million additional after-school meals annually to children in all 50 states. Many of those children now only receive after-school snacks. It would also increase the number of children eligible for school meals programs by at least 115,000, using Medicaid and census data to identify them.

The legislation would increase the amount of money schools are reimbursed by 6 cents a meal, a priority for schools that say they don’t have the dollars to feed needy kids.

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Copyright 2010 Liberaland
By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.

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